Budget
Local restaurants are available throughout the city, although most Uyghur restaurants are concentrated in Erdaoqiao, around the Grand Bazaar - there are plenty of restaurants on the street behind the mosque offering a nice alternative to standard Chinese cuisine. A standard price for a plate of hand-streched noodles with vegetable meat topping laghman/bà nmià n is about Â¥9--if you are still hungry, you can request more noodles jiÄmià n. Melon slices also make an excellent snack, at about 1 rmb a slice from a street vendor.Among other common Uyghur foods are dumplings of mutton and onions samsa, Uyghur fried rice polo, dumpling soup chuchura, meat pies Gush Nan and Opke Hessip lungs and stuffed intestines for the brave. Local specialty drinks include Kawas carbonated drink flavored with honey and Dogh a mixture of crushed ice, yoghurt and honey available in summer. The best known Hui dish is big plate chicken dà pánjÄ«, a spicy mixture of chicken and potatoes. Personal experience leads me to recommend the following:
Bodun ï¼åç¾ï¼
Delicious and cheap Uyghur staples. Good location in the city center.
Avral
Delicious and finely decorated, Avral is also well known for its Uyghur ice cream marozhni. This location is currently undergoing renovation, but there delicious ice cream shows up in other restaurants.
Hui and Uyghur food can be very spicy, and it is a good idea unless you like very spicy food to tell them "búyà o là de", or for Uyghurs "kizil mooch salmang!".
One warning before you go out and get local food though. Not everyone can stay healthy eating Uyghur and Hui food. Often it is cooked with a large amount of oil. Sanitary conditions are also perhaps not what you would have expected. If you have a weak stomach, or gall bladder problems it might be a good idea to try some of the other options. Or just stick to naan and kebab.
Take care if you are considering going to one of the restaurants next to the Grand Market. They will quite happily give you a 'tourist menu' where every dish is priced at over 1,000 yen. You can get similar and just as nice food at other restaurants in the nearby streets for a fraction of that price.
Midrange
Rendezvous
American-run. Also offers an excellent breakfast menu at the moment only on the weekends and their wraps are quite delicious. Try the Enchilada if you are hungry or the Burgers. They also have a great range of cakes, some say the best chocolate cake in Urumqi. For the money, the best and cheapest Western food in Urumqi.
The Texas Cafe
A Tex-Mex and classic American café. For comfort food try their fajita plates or tacos. They've got refried beans and homemade taco shells. The place is decorated with a lot of Texas memorabilia and it's somewhat of an Tex-Mex oasis there in Xinjiang. Also, they have a good selection of English books.
In town there are several mid-range options available for western food.
Vine Coffeehouse
A Caribbean cafe serving a wide array of western and Caribbean specialty dishes. Somewhat overpriced with small portions, but the little steaks are nice.
Edo No Sakura
For those intrigued by the prospect of eating sushi in the city furthest from an ocean. It is a bit pricey as can be expected. Next door is also a Brazilian barbeque restaurant, Sabbath.
Tashkent
Pleasantly decorated Central Asian cafe with a smattering of European dishes, as well, which used to be located on Xin Hua Nan Lu, but in April of 2011 moved down to the Dawan Bei Lu area. From the Number 10 bus stop, turn right at the first semblance of a road, pass a few run-down shops and suddenly you will enter a nearly new strip-mall area surrounded by fancy apartments. Keep walking about two short blocks, and Tashkent will be on your left. Madina, a tasty Pakistani restaurant that used to be located next to Tashkent's former location, has now taken up shop on the 15th floor of the Huaqiao Hotelå侨宾é¦. Take the elevator to the 14th floor and wander until you find a staircase to the 15F. Same golden arches sign as before, albeit much smaller. The place has downsized significantly, but still features amazing Pakistani food and tea.
Ice Mountain Creamery
American-owned ice cream shop selling delicious ice cream. They have a very small window in the center of town but you can also buy it at the Texas Cafe.
There are also a number of Russian restaurants near the Bianjiang Trade Complex è¾¹çåè´¸åon Yan'an Rd.
Vegan Yuanqi Vegetarian Restaurant
A Buddhist restaurant located near the junction of Altay Road and Xinyi Road. Walk about 200 meters north from the jucntion. On the left side of the road stands a big apartment block with two buildings. Restaurant is located 50 m inside a little alley between A and B wings. The staff are charming but speak no English, the menu is entirely in Chinese.
Top end
Korgan
Luxuriously decorated Uyghur restaurant. Very good Uyghur food if somewhat inflated prices.
The buffet at the China Southern Airlines Hotel is an ideal place to splurge. The head Chef is Austrian, and the food is very authentic Western fare, with some local dishes as well. Dinner costs ¥88 plus 15%, and includes tea, coffee, and a glass of red wine.The buffet at the Urumqi Sheraton ought to be rather good. ¥230.
Food is one of the things that Xinjiang is famous for. Fresh naan, spicy kababs, steaming pilaf, or famous hand stretched noodles — there are a lot of choices, and lots of variety.